Cronyism
October 14, 2011
A Friendly Fox And Friends Welcome To “We Are 53 Percent”
If any more proof is needed that Fox “News” has taken a stand against Occupy Wall Street, one only has to look at the warm welcome given to Mike Wilson, described as “Conservative Filmmaker” and “Developer” of “We Are The 53 Percent,” the newest Right Wing protest group on the ‘Merkin political scene. While The 53ers seem to be quite a small group, that didn’t stop the Foxy Friends (in the persona of Gretchen Carlson) from giving Wilson as warm an embrace as Fox “News” did Teabaggers…or Joe the Plumber. That’s because Fox doesn’t care how big or small a group is, as long as it’s on the right side, pun intended. Clearly Fox “News” believes “We Are The 53%” is on the right side, as evidenced by the chyrons alone. As Wednesday’s interview began the following words appeared at the bottom of the screen: Taking on ‘Occupy Wall Street’; ‘We are the 53 percent’ claims middle ground. At the 23 second mark that’s replaced by “Mike Wilson; Conservative Filmmaker” which, at the 33 second mark faded to “Mike Wilson; Developer, “We Are 53%.” Oddly enough, this only stayed up on screen for a mere 3.5 seconds. Suddenly the chyron is dropped entirely so that Fox can show full screen the pictures that Wilson was currently talking about. WOW!!! Talk about synergy. It’s almost like that was planned because Fox almost never drops the chyron unless it’s for Hooters babes. Twenty seconds later the screen returned to a regular shot of Wilson with the words Counter protest movement; Telling Wall St Demonstrators to ‘Suck it up’ below him. Less than 10 seconds later those words are replaced by ‘We are the 53%’; Blame themselves, politicians for their angst, followed a short time later by “Anti-Occupy Wall St Movement; Says be responsible for your own destiny.” Media Matters also contrasted the treatment of OWS with this new group in an article titled “Fox Attacks ‘99 Percent’ To Support ‘53 Percent,’ ” posted a day before this softball interview. As comprehensive as MMfA's article might be, as much—if not far more—is said by Gretchen's kiss, kiss, kiss ending to this interview. The Gretch wrapped it all up in a nice pretty bow for those who didn’t get the less-than-subtle propaganda, “It’s a very interesting reaction to what’s going on on Wall Street. And we’ll check back in with you because I have a feeling it’s going to continue to grow.” Translation: “We’ll keep pushing your group and, just like we did for the Teabaggers, we’ll help you grow.” Watch:
Continue reading >>October 3, 2011
How Ugly Will Be The Sarah Palin-Fox News Break Up and How Soon?
A recent headline at Crooks and Liars was guaranteed to catch my attention: “Palin Now Feuding With Juan Williams and Megyn Kelly,” written by Tina Dupuy. It’s similar to some of what we do here at News Hounds: it’s a few words to introduce a video clip, in this case one of Lawrence O’Donnell from MSNBC. However, it dovetails nicely with a hilarious and insightful post on Depuy’s blog I read about a year ago titled “Sarah Palin: America’s Full-Time Professional Duelist” in which she pegged The Quitter From Wasilla better than anyone else has, before or since: “In fact, Palin is now our nation’s only full-time professional duelist. She fights with everyone. Her entire post-quitting career is centered on flame wars, most of which she starts. They are often petty, sanctimonious, trumped-up jabs which do nothing but make the media talk about her more. And she’s monetized the drama. She’s gone pro. Yes, she’s found the formula Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian pioneered: shameless and shallow sells.” Written eleven months ago, nothing Sarah Palin has done or said has changed that impression. All Dupuy has had to do is maintain her “Sarah Palin’s Enemies List,” a compendium of all the feuds (whether one-sided or not) that Palin has engaged in since she left Alaska in the lurch. That list now stands at 92 and, amazingly, has grown by two since I began this article!!! The O’Donnell clip is about Palin’s feuds with Megyn Kelly and Juan Williams, coming in on Dupuy’s list at numbers 89 and 90 respectively. Palin using Fox “News” to engage in her petty feuds is nothing new. What is new, however, is that her feuds are now with other Fox “News” personalities. Watch:
Continue reading >>August 31, 2011
Laughing Stock Michael Brown Still The Fox “News” Go-To Guy For Disasters
If you discount the World Trade Center attacks, the non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction, the “Enhanced Interrogation techniques,” and the “Outing of CIA Agents”—which, oddly enough, pretty much sums up the entire 8 years under the President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney administration—most people would be hard pressed to name one other member of that regime. However, the name Michael Brown is one that crops up occasionally to point to the extreme incompetence of the Bush administration. To recap: Brown was the head of FEMA in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina whacked the Gulf Coast on August 29th. Four days later Bush praised him by saying, “Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job.” However, by then it was pretty clear to everybody but Bush that Brown was in way over his head. Less than 2 weeks later, on September 12th, Brown resigned as head of FEMA. With that resumé it’s a wonder why any so-called “news” operation would use him as a commentator following another natural disaster. However, that CV didn’t stop Bill Hemmer, who dragged out the disgraced ‘Brownie’ on America’s Newsroom to critique President Obama’s response to Hurricane Irene. Watch:
Continue reading >>July 22, 2011
The Five Joins The Chorus And Also Defends Allen West’s Indefensible Rant
It’s hard to know whether a memo has come down from on high, but there officially seems to be no hour of the day in which Fox “News” personalities have not come out in full-throated defense of Allen West’s attack of my Congressional Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz. Yesterday it was the turn of The Five—still one of the worst shows on television since My Mother, The Car. Watch Monica Crowley in action:
Continue reading >>June 28, 2011
Glenn Beck Interviews Texas Governor Perry While Ignoring Koch Brothers Connection
Let me state my bias up front, which is something you’ll never hear from Fox “News” with its phony “Fair and Balanced” slogan: I lean to the left. Shocker, I know, but really, I do. Therefore, it’s only natural that I support the efforts of George Soros, in his philanthropy, to fund organizations which further an agenda that is aligned with my political point of view. However, that’s only ONE of the MANY reasons I have found Glenn Beck’s constant vilification of Soros troubling. But, let’s not get too deeply into the weeds and just stick with that single topic as I examine Beck’s interview yesterday with Texas Governor, and possible presidential candidate, Rick Perry.
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